Nature Deficit Disorder: Will it be our own undoing?
In the novel Last Child in the Woods, the author Richard Louv discusses the concept of deprivation of nature and its ramifications on our modern generation’s lifestyle. Louv credits a lack of exposure to nature as a significant source of medical problems, such as anxiety and ADHD, and attempts to identify the root cause of why such a decrease in contact with nature has occurred in the last two-to-three decades. To a large extent, I agree with Louv’s hypothesis on the consequences of Louv’s Nature Deficit Disorder, and the focus of my essay is on how Nature Deficit Disorder has contributed to the anxiety inducing climate change crisis.
To understand the full extent of Nature Deficit Disorder, we must first understand the way nature has shaped the lives of individuals who grew up in its abundance. Richard Louv, in his novel Last Child eloquently reminiscences his personal experience growing up next to nature. He remembers tramping through the forests of Nebraska cottonwoods, and feeling the swell of a wave that traveled a thousand miles before lifting his boat — both literally and figuratively, nature “lifts [him], carries [him].” He describes how nature would draw on the creativity in children by demanding a full use of senses, through freedom, fantasy, and privacy. Not only was nature a child’s escape from the adult world, but also the perfect sandbox for them to play, explore, learn, and ultimately grow.
Louv spends a breadth of his work revealing the difference in perspectives he believes his generation felt towards nature and those of the next generation. Indeed, it’s no revelation that in contemporary society, most children would hastily trade the adventures and journeys Louv held so close to his heart for a few hours on their smartphones or tablets.
Humans are innately curious beings, children all the more so. Naturally, they gravitate towards things which spark that curiosity; after that curiosity has been satisfied, they move onto the next item which piques their curiosity. While this trait is present in both Louv’s and our current generation, the latter has been gifted with new revolutionary technological enhancements which enable that shift to occur instantaneously. Smartphones, tablets, television, and video games all provide a variety of content that continuously stimulates the young minds and soothes their inherent curiosity, eliminating the necessity for any actual outdoor exploration or activity. Take the example of Paul — a fourth grader from San Diego, CA — who preferred to “play indoors [more], ’cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are”.
Modern technological developers have used that [pattern] to their advantage, consistently designing the newest wave of next-generation technology to deliver information quicker, clearer, and ultimately grasp onto their users longer than ever before. Children don’t have explore the woods to find themselves in nature, they can just take a Buzzfeed questionnaire that automatically tells them. They don’t need to gather around a campfire and share their spooky ghost stories, they can just read them on Reddit. They don’t need to feel the thrill of adventure as they kayak downstream gushing rivers, they can just play Wild Rapids 3, Call of the Wild on Xbox.
“Fear of traffic, of crime, of stranger danger, and of nature itself” have been the driving force that deter parents from allowing children the same experiences in nature as they had when they were kids. While a “backseat childhood” has reduced some of the physical dangers to young children, the inconsequential risks “including risks to physical and psychological health, risk to the child’s concept and perception of community, risk to self-confidence, and the ability to discern true and beauty” have increased alarmingly. The media has played a huge role, especially after the terror attack of 9/11, in portraying the outdoors and the unknown as terrifying and dangerous. This has led parents to become overwhelmingly controlling. As one father powerfully said:
I have a rule. I want to know where my kid is, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I want to know where that kid is. Which house. Which square foot. Which telephone number. That’s just my way of dealing with it.
This has also driven parents to keep their kids indoors and not be exposed to nature and not have their own experiences and process of exploration and discovery.
Unfortunately, technology has become more than just a feeble pastime or safety precaution in modern society. Our generation has created a cultural dynamic that actually supports turning to technology in lieu of a healthy outlet for our emotions. While some parents may ultimately say that nature is necessary for personal growth and development, their actions suggest something else entirely. In the face of a crying infant or screaming toddler, young parents now immediately turn to television as a means of calming the child. The tender, loving care, that a child may expect to receive from their parents is now provided by a big purple dinosaur and his friends or yellow bird on Sesame Street. Teenagers relate more to the central characters of dramas they watch on television rather than their closest friends, and social media altogether has enabled young minds to replace human contract with digital messaging. Even if parents tout the benefits of nature and outdoor activities to their children, realistically “our actions and messages — especially the ones we cannot hear ourselves deliver — are different”.
While Louv would enjoy climbing trees and exploring nature on his own as an escape to “calm [him], focus [him], and yet excite [his] senses”, this is no longer the case for most children in our generation. Unfortunately, now more than ever, children are in desperate need of a healthy outlet — a byproduct of what Louv describes as the “Superchild Syndrome”. Children are increasingly edged to be more and more productive with their time management, at younger and younger ages. A study from the University of Maryland found that “between 1981 and 2003, children during the typical week lost over 9 hours of discretionary time. They spent less time in unstructured indoor and outdoor play; computer use doubled”. Playtime is now “killing time”, and mounting stress is now necessary to stay up to par with the rest of the generation. In addition to increasing cases of ADHD and anxiety mounting in our children, the ultimate byproduct of this trend is to turn to indoor digitalized activity as an escape from their world — since outdoor activity is “Unproductive. Off-limits. Alien. Cute. Dangerous. Televised”.
When people are then faced with inexplicable difficulties or actual problems they’re forced to grapple with, their immediate response is to turn off their minds and immerse themselves in their digital escape. This drift away from the environment and towards the dependency of man-made objects has led an exponential depletion of the world’s natural resources. The ecosystems are changing, the forests are burning and the ice caps are melting at an unprecedented rate, and while human indifference may have induced this, now the tables have turned: climate change is now inducing human anxiety.
A Survey by Yale and Gorge Mason universities reported that greater than 62% of Americans are at least “somewhat worried” about climate change, and 23% included in these are “very worried.” While both generations express concern, millennials and Gen-Z generally are more concerned. A shocking 54% of those aged between 18–34, worry a great deal about climate change.
As Van Susteren notes, climate change poses a risk to mental health even without any direct physical threats. “Children and teens are generally more likely to accept the scientific consensus — widespread agreement — about humanity’s role in climate change.” This creates a worrisome trend among younger people that these impacts are only going to worsen as time passes. Furthermore, “They look at the generation ahead of them that could have taken action and didn’t.” This creates feelings of resentment and frustration which can stand in the way of general well-being.
These emotions are not exclusive to young adults and children; rather, the psychological impact of the looming threat of a global climate crisis has extended to the general population. Frameworks and mindsets have become more “pessimistic than optimistic”, but rather than face the problems at hand, we adopt “diverse distancing practices” to “separate themselves from emotions.” As a result, even the scientific community has started to reevaluate their method of approach to stir climate change. One researcher claims, “We have for too long as scientists rested on the assumption that by providing indisputable facts and great data that we are…counter[ing] the forces against science. And obviously that strategy has failed miserably.” Ultimately, what we as a society failed to consider regarding the impact of climate change can be summarized in a report issued by the U.S. Global Change Research Program:
People affected by natural disasters often develop chronic psychological dysfunction. This extends to first responders as well. Representations of climate change in the media and popular culture can also influence a person’s stress response and mental well-being. Additionally, extreme heat exacerbates health problems in people with mental illness due to medication altering the body’s ability to regulate temperature.
This emphasis on the connection between health and climate change for the first time further alludes to Louv’s hypothesis about the consequences of nature deficit disorder.
